Bagheera
by Golden Panther
Summary: When a thief and his sister escape to the jungle, Bagheera comes to their aid in survival. When the panther attempts to return them home, villagers are enraged for more than one reason and Bagheera is caught in the middle of it all. Inspired by numerous historical events and the song "Brave" by Riley Pearce. Dedicated to Sebastian Cabot.
1. Prologue

**"Bagheera"**

**A/N Note: **Mowgli is around thirteen years old.

Inspired by historical events and the song "Brave" by Riley Pearce

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-Dedicated to Sebastian Cabot-

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**Prologue:**

Across the riverbank past the wild bushes nestled in a clearing was the village made of straw thatched roofs and wooden houses. A young girl clad in a pink gown and a lavender bindi, carried an empty clay vase on her shoulder safely securing it with her arm. In a voice reminiscent of the morning she sang a lullaby of which Mowgli could not understand. It was as if she were speaking an entirely new language, one that was not of animal or human (as far as he knew), but nevertheless beautiful to the man cub's ears. Bagheera, who sat beside the boy, looked into his eyes and smiled, for the panther knew as he always had, that one day there would be love and if anything, it would be love that would lead Mowgli to where he needed to be.

"Bagheera," Mowgli said, looking at the girl, entranced by her beauty, "what exactly are we looking at?"

"A female, one of your own kind." Bagheera answered promptly. "It is her and her people you must journey on with now."

The boy looked at his friend for a moment, noticing that the panther was not joking, was not being foolish, and was certainly not playing poker face. Bagheera stood on all four of his paws and looked at Mowgli with eyes full of bittersweet. Despite having known of this day from the beginning, Bagheera secretly wished that this day did not have to come so soon, so quickly.

_I have dreamt of this many times. _Bagheera thought as he returned his gaze to the girl who at this point was filling the vase with mosquito cholera filled water that will have to be purified and cleansed before consumption. Nevertheless, she was smiling and humming while doing the work as the sounds of jungle birds filled the hot afternoon with sweet songs of moving on and cherished memories.

Mowgli climbed up a small tree to get a better look at this female of his own kind whom he had never seen before. To him, she was the most beautiful creature in all the earth and he wanted to know more about the song she was singing, why she was carrying the clay vase and filling it with water, and why her father and mother were so demanding of her. All the wonders in Mowgli's head were answered the instant the girl stood up and lost the vase's balance, sending all of the water collected and the vase itself into the river.

Bending down and sighing, the girl did not take sight of the boy who emerged from the bushes who silently waded in the river and assisted her by retrieving the vase and filling it with water again, all she saw was the filled vase and a naïve smile across a face. The girl laughed and took the vase from Mowgli watching his innocent eyes traverse through the world of man for the first time in his life. For a moment they stood there looking at each other and for a moment Bagheera was the proudest panther in the jungle.

_Thank the heavens for you, sweet girl. You have saved the man cub's life._ The panther thought as his whiskers twitched from anticipation and his eyes were prepped for the final look he would receive. Bagheera's tail slowly swept the moist ground, clearing away moss and dirt for some useless reason.

Mowgli exited the river from the other side and carried the vase for the girl who smiled and coaxed him inside the world of humanity. Nevertheless, the man cub looked back when he reached the gate, smiled sheepishly and sat the vase down a moment. Mowgli walked back to the bank, crossed the river again and embraced Bagheera a final time, digging his face in the panther's thick fur. The panther in turn, caressed Mowgli by rubbing his head against the boy's back and slightly reaching his left forepaw across Mowgli's back, embraced the man cub a final time. Bagheera's dream was now coming true, and without realizing it, the panther purred sadly and produced a tear. Mowgli let Bagheera go, and Bagheera naturally reverted back to sitting down on the jungle floor.

"Thank you Bagheera," Mowgli said, "for keeping me alive all these years."

"You were worth keeping alive." Bagheera replied.

The Panther put on a brave face and watched Mowgli cross the water, disappear beyond the gates, and close them. Bagheera turned away and decided the best way to shield his grief was to speed into the jungle: through the brush, into the trees, past the wild flowers and feral waterfalls, into the wolf cliffs and over the river where his journey with Mowgli began those many years ago...


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One:**

Awoken by the sound of a bird, Bagheera flicked his tail to and fro, attempting to swish away a fly that was pestering him. The river before him was calm and despite the water it was well enough to drink, then again he honestly did not care much for sanitation. It was on these occasions, the ones in which the air was still and the birds were singing, that Bagheera entered into his deepest thoughts and naturally, they were of Mowgli. To be true he was missing him, but ever understanding of The Law, despite wishing that it could be expecting of one case, Bagheera just sat there and thought.

_I remember when he first learned my name- it was as I like to imagine, the first spoken word he said. Bagheera, with a slight hesitation at the end. I loved how he said it. Baghee-ra. There was apparently panther in him after all…_

The child was dressed poorly, only a leaf to cover himself, but despite his state, he was unaware and rather unashamed. Looking at the cat with the piercing green eyes, the little man-cub was beaming as he orated the panther's name over and over, each time becoming more pronounced than the last.

"Bagheer-ra!"

"That's it little one," the Panther said, his tail proudly swishing as his claws dug into the moist ground. "Bagheera."

"Baghee-ra!"

Smiling at the personal accomplishment, the young boy waddled himself over and embraced the panther by the neck as best he could. Bagheera was caught unaware, for he had never been embraced by such a creature before and it was here that in the midst of wolves and infinite green that the black cat with piercing eyes learned to truly love a human being. Placing a paw over Mowgli's back, the panther licked the child's hair and with a purr said:

"You shall never loose me, man-cub, for I shall always be with you and as the wolves for witness…"

"I shall honor my claim as brother, as teacher, as guardian, to such a thing as you." A tear escaped his right eye followed closely by a sigh.

The panther stood and without further pitying himself, he crossed the river slow and steady like. Looking downstream, noticing a decaying piece of wood, he knew precisely where he was and out of respect, crossed the river fully and proceeded to bow his head.

_My heart grieves heavily. Despite knowing, I cannot bear to accept it fully._

Looking at his paws, the Panther dug his claws into the Earth, his ears flicked as the wind carried a gentle song of bittersweet behavior. Sweeping the ground with his tail, Bagheera stared at the wreckage that was the place of rescue. In his ears, the sound of Mowgli crying came about, perking them tall and sniffing the air just to be extra sur of what he was hearing- his nose fell silent, his ears grew deaf and the cries ceased. He knew then that it was an imagined voice, one from the past that was never coming back.

Meanwhile, Akela, leader of the wolves, came forth from downriver- his fur was sticking way up and his ears were pointed and alert. He paused and drank from the river to focus himself and rest. Out of his peripheral, the wolf noticed Bagheera starring at the rotting wood that was slowly beginning to move. The Panther stood up, curious as to why the last remaining relic of thirteen years was deciding to move now. The water was slow in the killing, as the wood creaked and cracked, producing a sound that made Bagheera flinch and produce a single tear throughout the process. As the little vessel, destroyed by the carnivorous river, floated down towards Akela, Bagheera laid down on his stomach and purred solemnly.

Akela watched the wood go down away from him and kept his gaze upon it until he could no longer see it. A gentle smile graced the wolf's face and his big bushy tail fluttered fondly and his bright blue irises twinkled with a different breed of solemnity that Bagheera was experiencing. Standing up as tall as he could, Akela bowed his head.

"Goodbye man-cub, may you always be safe."

Bagheera's ears perked up and he turned to see his friend. Standing up, Bagheera licked himself clean of what dirt and grime there was and Akela stood there for a moment, remembering in his own way.

"You've done well Bagheera. I thank you, for saving the man-cub's life." Akela said with an appreciative smile.

"He is where he belongs." Bagheera answered. "I was happy to do the service."

Nodding, the wolf walked forward to him with a gentle, brotherly smile. "I never thought I'd see the day when a panther would miss a man-cub so much."

"He was mine Akela. I love him. Perhaps that was a fatal mistake." Bagheera lowered his head in shame, for he knew the risk of such emotions playing into logic of the impossibilities that he knew existed.

"My friend." Akela said with forceful diction, but still smiling all the same. "Love is never a fatal mistake. Grieving is not fatal either. It is the excess that is fatal."

He paused and examined Bagheera's face, which was stoic and listening despite the panther knowing this knowledge already. There was still a hint of sadness in his eyes and this made Akela more concerned. The wolf flattened his ears and drooped his tail.

"I miss him too, but we move on and remember, Bagheera."

The Panther exhaled and nodded as he sat down on all fours, his back erect and his tail. _I made a promise to him, Akela. Simply because he is away from me does not mean that I shall discontinue it._

"Bagheera…" Akela said, noticing the silence. "Are you alright?"

Bagheera nodded again and stood up, walking away from the river, going deeper into the jungle to further escape his tendencies to go and retrieve Mowgli for himself. "I'm fine, Akela. I am beginning to find myself disturbed."

The wolf followed him, the concern was heightened as he bounded himself a top a large root. "Disturbed….disturbed by what?"

Bagheera did not answer him. "I suspect that Shere-Khan still lives."

"If that is the case, then we can do nothing." Akela stated as his fur grew tense with the mentioning of the name.

"If Man cannot protect him," Bagheera said. "Then who will?"

"Man can kill him." Akela answered.

"Not easily. Shere-Khan will come again, perhaps not now, perhaps not soon, but he will come again, and when he does, if Mowgli is found dead-"

"Then you do nothing and let nature run its course, Bagheera. I will protect him as best I can but I will not interfere with his life anymore. What he does now is his decision. You've done your part and you taught him as best you could. But if Shere-Khan kills him now the fault is Man's, not yours or mine."

Bagheera's fur stood up and he hissed slightly. "Shere-Khan is part of the jungle, as are we. If we cannot protect Mowgli then we-"

"Have done all we can." Akela said as he approached him with eyes of worry. "Bagheera, you are starting to worry me. You are very wise- do not spoil your wisdom on emotional impulse."

Bagheera nodded in agreement. "I simply speak of what is right. If Man harms him and if Shere-Khan slays, then I will act, not on fatherly impulse alone, but because he killed one who was not ready to die and that is unforgiveable."

The Wolf passed him, his tail elegantly swishing dead leaves and his feet making the ground crunch underneath, commanding the world of the jungle to obey his word. Bagheera watched him go and for a moment, the two simply stared- each silent and each concerned over the other.

"Do not go looking for Shere-Khan, Bagheera. Do not be so foolish as to do issue your own death."

Bagheera shook his head. "I won't be looking for anyone, Akela. I will simply act should anything occur first."

"If Man does harm him, Bagheera," Akela turned his head back as he continued to move away. "What will you do?"

Bagheera sat on all fours, allowing the ground to seep in between his toes. "The necessary measures, friend."


End file.
